Lavanda Joan Colbert Booth - Independence, Mo.

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Lavanda Joan Colbert Booth died Friday, Jan. 6, 2006, in Independence, Mo., after a brief and courageous battle with cancer. Born on Sept. 17, 1932 in Monette, she was the youngest child of Clyde Colbert and Mary Lois Davis Colbert. She was preceded in death by her father and mother; her brothers, John L. Colbert and Doyle Colbert, and her sister, Jewel Colbert Darr.

She graduated from Caraway High School in 1949 and on Dec. 29, 1949 at the age of 17, married Paul W. Booth, with whom she shared a journey of love, laughter, adventure and intense devotion for 56 years. She graduated from the University of Louisville, Ky., in 1965 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Education. She was awarded a Master of Arts degree in United States History from the University of Colorado in 1968, and after post-graduate work, received a Specialist Degree in Educational Counseling from the University of Missouri -- Kansas City in 1972. She began a career in teaching in 1965 and retired in 1993 after 26 years as a guidance counselor at Ruskin High School in Kansas City, Mo. She was an active member of the National Education Association, holding numerous local, state, and national offices. She was a past president of the Greater Kansas City Retired Teachers Association and was an Elder in the Community of Christ Church. She traveled the world with her husband, Paul, and loved being with and sharing ideas with the people she met in Africa, Europe, Scandinavia, China, Australia, Canada, and Central America. She was a gentle person of great strength.

The funeral was held at the Community of Christ Church in Caraway at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 14, with interment at the Oaklawn Cemetery in Jonesboro.

Honored to serve as pallbearers were David Jewell, Gabriel Jewell, Zachary Jewell, Matthew Booth, Andrew Booth and James Tidey. A memorial service will also be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28, at the Community of Christ Stone Church, Independence, Mo.

Memorials may be sent to the Community of Christ Seminary, 1401 W. Truman Road, Independence, Mo. 64050.